Amazon Go: our verdict

Stepping right out of the future, Amazon announced last week their first queue-less and cashier-less store

Intrigued as to what the general populace would make of this new shopping innovation, we canvassed opinion from around the office to see what people thought of Amazon‘s newest venture.

Ian – Senior Designer

From 24-hour delivery to items in under two-hours (via the fleet of drones) and now instant ‘collection’ for FMCG. I can see how this would help alleviate that super-manic lunchtime rush for the meal-deal in the city. It’ll also be a step towards removing doubt of whether you’ve picked your speediest queue. But I’d be curious to know how they’ll get around the issue of age restricted items like alcohol?

Ritesh – Account Manager

The concept is great – it could work in large stores during busy periods such as Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays. However, we must ask ourselves what technology in this scenario is really replacing? Is it just getting rid of queues for ease of shopping? I don’t think so.

The human interaction in our everyday habits is very important, it grounds us and provides an important aspect to our social behavior towards people working in different environments to us. Removing this completely would be something that should not be done without careful thought and consideration towards how it can affect us in the long-term.

J-Mike – Senior Developer

The element of trust has been amplified by retail giants such as Amazon. To allow customers to walk in and out without any need of human interaction. With the help of locational positioning tracking technology, they have created a two-way trust between the brand and consumers. Consumers can give up their privacy by allowing themselves to be tracked in store and kept secure, and in return they are offered trust with being in full control.

So, what’s next? Notification when your favorite snacks are fully stocked up so you never miss out? Or a constant bombardment of advertisement based on items you bought for yourself, or for “a friend”. Followed by “We noticed you didn’t pick up your usual bottle of wine, we have it in store or order it to be delivered to your house”?

Genius or just creepy. Although no one is being forced to go in, it is targeted for those who are obviously keen. But as always, there will be those who just don’t get it. The growth of a brand’s understanding its consumers has gained another level of depth; the ecosystem of advanced algorithms has just increased in complexity. The future of shopping is here, but the real question is “are we ready?”

Words by Collider

Up Next

The importance of understanding your current CRM database

In today’s age we can confidently say people use the internet and various online methods to consume information an ever-increasing rate.